Recurring Hand Injury

The Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement (BSEE) has published Safety Alert No. 336 regarding a hand injury sustained during lifting procedures.

During a slow lifting process to remove a rubbish bag from a storage container, the storage container itself also began to lift. The crane operator was unable to see the lifting operation due to a blind spot, and therefore had another employee guiding him through the lift. The employee placed his hand on the container in order to free the bag. As the container began to lift, the metal frame began to part, which caused the container to fall onto the production deck and the individual.

The employee was left with a large laceration (see image) on his left hand, which required 8 stitches.

What went wrong?

• The correct personal protective equipment (PPE) was not worn by the employee guiding the crane operator.

What action was taken?

• The storage container was removed from service and discarded.

What lessons were learned?

• Offshore personnel should always wear appropriate PPE when performing tasks;
• The BSEE also recommends that operators use job safety analyses (JSAs) on each job/task undertaken and ensure that they properly identify the risks and hazards of the job, and to mitigate the risks to as low as is reasonably practicable (using the hierarchy of controls promoted by NIOSH).
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The BSEE noted that there has been a large number of hand injury incidents, which range from burns and cuts to blunt trauma. Further information on these incidents can be found in the BSEE Safety Alert No. 336.